The National Center for the Prevention of Torture of Kyrgyzstan notes the increasing cases of failure to provide timely medical assistance to prisoners held in closed institutions.
A lawyer, who represented the interests of a man, born in 1955, who was in the pre-trial detention center #1, applied to the National Center for the Prevention of Torture. The person suspected of committing a crime under Part 3 267 “Illegal manufacture of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their analogs for the purpose of selling on an especially large scale” of the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic asked to be transferred to institution No. 47 of the State Penitentiary Service in connection with a sharp deterioration in health. However, despite the requests of the defense lawyer to the investigative authorities and the management of the detention center, this request was ignored.
Due to the untimely provision of medical care and ignoring requests for transfer to a specialized medical institution, the man fell into a diabetic coma. On July 26, in serious condition, he was taken by ambulance to medical correctional institution No. 47, where he died 10 days later. Preliminary postmortem diagnosis: acute respiratory failure, type 1 diabetes mellitus, diabetic polyneuropathy, diabetic foot syndrome, hypoglycemic coma, cerebral edema, acute cerebrovascular accident.
”Many seriously ill convicts and defendants are not released from custody despite the government’s decree No. 745 of November 29, 2011, On approval of the procedure for medical examination of prisoners sentenced to imprisonment suffering from serious illnesses and their release from service of sentence. Judges, doctors, prosecutors do not take responsibility, but people suffer. In most cases, seriously ill prisoners are released only upon reaching the terms for parole,” the National Center for the Prevention of Torture notes.
A similar case occurred with a convict who was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. The woman was released on parole but not for health reasons. She died a month after her release. Similar situations arise in other closed institutions in Kyrgyzstan.
Today, two severely ill women are being held in the medical unit of the female correctional colony # 2. The first convict suffered four strokes in the colony, suffers from grade 3 arterial hypertension, renal failure, atherosclerosis of the aorta and cerebral arteries, and grade 2 discirculatory encephalopathy. The woman complains of high blood pressure, constant headaches, and swelling of the legs. For the last two years, she can only walk using crutches or in a wheelchair. Most of the drugs prescribed to her are not available in the medical unit. The medicines are provided by relatives.
The second convict also needs constant medical care. The woman has a brain tumor. She suffers from frequent headaches and epileptic seizures. Pain management medications don’t help.
The National Center for the Prevention of Torture of the Kyrgyz Republic asks the bodies of the penal system to pay attention to these facts and to respect the right to release a person due to illness.
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